Tactics
The rules of MYTHSEA fit on one page, but most matches are decided by a handful of habits. These are the ones that follow directly from how the guns, hulls and zones work.
Winning a duel
Land the first hit
A hit empties the target's guns and restarts its reload. So a ship about to fire loses that shot, and the first ship to connect is usually the one that wins the exchange. Getting the opening right matters more than anything after it.
Read the reload bar
The bar under every ship's hull points shows its guns. If an enemy's bar is low, it cannot fire at you yet, and that is the moment to close in. If the bar is full, assume it is waiting for you to come abeam.
Turn before you arrive
Your ship cannot pivot, so a turn started at firing range is a turn started too late. Begin curving early so that your side comes round as you reach range. Sailing bow-on at someone gives them time to turn and offers you no shot.
Pass close, so both balls land
The two balls of a side leave from different points along the hull and fly straight out. The closer and more squarely you pass, the likelier both are to hit, and that is the difference between 1 point and 2.
Do not waste a held trigger
Holding Space fires as soon as the guns are ready, even with nothing in line, and then you have to wait out the reload. So do not keep it held down all the time.
Snowballing with cannons
Each ship you sink adds a cannon a side, up to four. Starting ships need about three clean broadsides to sink a full hull, while a ship with four guns a side can do it in two. So an early kill is worth more than its point on the board.
The same logic works in reverse: count the guns on a ship's deck before you pick a fight. A ship with four a side has already won twice, and a full broadside from it costs you most of your hull.
Using the map
Islands are cover
Cannonballs do not cross land, so an island between you and a stronger ship ends the exchange. When you are damaged, break contact around the far side of an island rather than running across open water.
Watch the walls of your own escape
Jetties and island shores are solid, and a ship pinned against one loses speed and becomes an easy target. Before you commit to a chase along a coast, know which way you will turn out of it.
Let others meet first
Twenty ships in one minute means fights start everywhere at once. The ship that finishes a duel is often damaged and reloading, which makes it the best target on the map. Arriving second can be better than arriving first.
Chests: when the risk is worth it
A chest repairs a damaged ship to all five points, but it sits in a creep's lair, the most dangerous water in its zone. A full-hull ship cannot use one, so do not cross a lair just to deny it. Go when you have lost at least two or three points, and time the run between the creep's marked attacks. Remember that damaged bots head for nearby chests too, and that other players know where you are going.
Staying ahead of the zones
- Move when the mark appears. You get ten seconds of warning, and a fight across the line can cost you more than the fight itself.
- Use what the first pair tells you. The two zones farthest from the final zone close first, so the closing pair points you away from them.
- Dead water is a price, not a wall. It takes one point every three seconds, and leaving it resets the count. Clipping a corner to escape or finish a kill can be worth a point. Staying is not.
- Be inside the circle early. It starts shrinking at 40 seconds and reaches nothing at 60. Near the end there is no room left to run, and the fight comes to you.
The full schedule and every creep are on the sea page.